Ilcho Naumoski did not last long at Inter Bakı as he was released by the Azeri club after the conclusion of the 1st half of the season.

The 30-year-old Naumoski only signed with Inter Bakı back in late August of this year, but his journey lasted just 4 months before his departure from the club.  After Friday’s game between Inter Bakı and Qarabağ, which was the final game before the winter break got underway in Azerbaijan, Naumoski was informed by Inter Bakı that he would be released.

Naumoski failed to win the confidence of Inter Bakı manager Kakhaber Tskhadadze, and this move is not really a surprise considering that Ilcho has not been featuring for the club over the past month.  Naumoski showed up out of shape and never impressed during his several appearances.

In the end, Naumoski made just four league caps during his brief time with Inter Bakı, only one of them coming as a starter.  He did not manage to score a goal in his combined total of 80 minutes that he played in during those four league appearances.

With his departure, Inter Bakı goes back to having just one Macedonian player on its roster in 33-year-old defensive midfielder Slavcho Georgievski.

Naumoski may not be the only Macedonian player based in Azerbaijan to get his marching orders during the winter transfer window.  Nikola Gligorov of Khazar Lankaran and Igor Mitreski of Neftçi are also expected to be let go over the next month. 

Gligorov has rarely played for Khazar after being brought to the club by former Macedonian national team manager John Toshack.  However, Toshack was fired by Khazar earlier in the campaign due to bad results, and Gligorov was not getting many opportunities in the first place, either under Toshack or the new manager.  Mitreski, on the other hand, has seen his play suffer due to age catching up with him.  Igor, who will turn 35 in February, has been making costly defensive mistakes that has led to his benching on several occasions.  Mitreski is likely to retire after Neftçi makes his departure official, and he is then expected to pursue a coaching career.